Chuck



Patented Mar. 2, 1 948 CHUCK v Milton L. Benjamin, shaker Heights, and Franklyn E. Winnen, Cleveland, Ohio; said Winnen assignor to said Benjamin Y Applieaiien December 5, 1945, serial Ne. 632,894

r-cianns. (ci. 279-52) The present invention, relating as' indicated to chucks, has more particular regard to chucks of the type in which Va tap or like tool, or work- Piece, is gripped by a vcontractible and expansible collet. Still more particularly the invention contemplates the provision of improved manually operable means for opening and .closing the chuck.

One principal object ofthe invention is to provide such a manually operable chuck which will be simple and compact in construction and `at the same time be positive and accurate in 'operai tion. A further object is to provide a chuck of the type in question which may be readily mounted in any standard drill press or like machine in which chucks are regularly used. Still a further object is to provide a chuck in which the .closing action will be positive and the tool or work-piece will be held securely by the collet for rotation in either direction and without further attention on the part of the operator kuntil it'is desired to release 'such tool "or work-piece; such roation being permitted at high speed, since no'zload is imposed on the ball bearings in the chuck;r

To the accomplishment of the foregoing. andrelated ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully describedand .particu-f Fig. 2 is a central axial section ofthe same, as

indicated by the line 2-2 Fig; 1; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of said chuck taken and 2. y It should be noted that in thus illustrated in the several flgure'soffthe 'draw on the plane indicated bythe line 3V3 Figs. 1I

ing, the construction ofthe collet and the parts' immediately associated therewith for contractingv thev case of the chuck;v

such collet is substantially the same as that set' forth in U. S. latentNo.A 2,228,685, issued toone of the applicants, viz., M.- L. Benjamin,A underdate of January 14, 1941. n win be understood,

of course, that the means hereinkshown and de'-v -Referring now tothe construction as illustrated in the several figures of the drawing, the main element of the chuck will be seen to comprise a hollow. cylindrical member or sleeve I, this corre-y sponding in general with the forward vhollow portion of the so-called shank member of the chuck set -forth in the identified patent. While as shown, said member I is provided at its rear end with internal threads 2 whereby it may be mounted on a correspondingly externally threaded spindle (not shown), it will be understood that such end of the member may equally well consist of a shank suitable for connection to a socketed driving member.

The interior wall or bore of member I lying forwardly of such threaded rear portion 2 is formed with two substantially parallel axially spaced conical-surfaces 3 and 4, which iiare outwardly, i. e., toward the forward end of the member, the'first such surface being in fact directly contiguous to suchend. The collet 5, which is mounted vwithin the portion of member I just described,v is formed externally with two axially spaced-1cylindricalsurfaces 6 and 1 which are joined by a conical surface 8 complementary to and designed to coact with conical surface 3 of member I, and with a conical surface 9 at its inner end complementary to and designed to coact with conicalsurface 4 on said member; In other words, said conical faces 8 and 9 are parallel andaare inclined at the same angle andv spacedfsubstantially the same distance apart as theinternal conical faces-of the member 4. In addition, the collet at its forward end is provided with a'A conical faceIIl which inclines at an angle opposite to that of the previously described conical faces andY is adapted to be engaged by an inwardly directed conical face I I on a nose-piece I2. Finally, it should be noted that the collet is longitudinally intersected by slots I3 and I4 which extend alternately from opposite ends thereof` almost to .they other end, so that upon relative axial movement of member I and nose-V piece,l, l2, .thefcollet will be contracted and thus caused togrip thestem` or shank of a tool in serted within the same or similarly to grip a workpiece, if desired It `will be understood that thev collet will be made of tempered steel or equivalent metal, vso that. upon such contracting pressurey being released, it will expand and resume its normal shape or diameter. The camming action of the several complementary conical faces will be suchy as to cause such contraction to be substan-j tiallyi uniform throughout the length of the collet 3 without any longitudinal distortion of any section thereof.

For the purpose of reciprocating the nose-piece A I2 so as to eiect contraction of the collet 5, as just set forth, the means now to be described are provided.

Mounted externally on the rear end of member I so as to abut anrexternally directed shoulder I5 thereon is the inner raceway of a' balllbearing' I 6, the outer raceway of which similarly abuts "is provided. Access to this locking ring with against an inwardly directed flange I'I of an outer casing I8. on the rear portion of memberA I, serves tolhold A ring I9, externally threaded' the races of the ball bearing'thusin.abuttingnela;l Y

tion with the shoulder and iange just referred to while an annular plate 29 secured to .the rear face of casing I8 serves to enclose-,such balllebear` 4 nose-piece by the camming action of the levers 35.

It will be noted that the degree of oscillation of said levers required to move the nose-piece a given amount may be adjusted by rotation of shell about the intermediate portion of the member I with which it has threaded engagemenmasprzeviously described.` YIn ,ordento hold said: ring in such adjusted position, a locking ring wlll), engaging the same threads on the member l,

, w'al spanner or like operating tool may be had through the spaces that lie between extensions f2I'-f0f-casingZilf3 Itwill also be noted that in addition-*tothe :outwardly haring bevel 36 on Vring 3'I'the' latter is formed with two successively adjacentf'oppositelyqginclined bevel faces il and ing so as to prevent entrance of, foreignmvmatter Such smovement is imparted to'fshellfZltA by Vmeans i of a radial handle or -kn'ob25 that-projects there--l from in one of the spaces betweentlietwo 'exe tensions '2I`, -since yby rotating such fhandle'- the studs 23: will? be causedto move-'in' the camfslots 22A in a corresponding directionfandfthuslat-the Sametime y displace thev shell longitudinallyfof the axis`A ofthe devce"in=one*direction or the' other.

points where they thus lengage slots22.-"

Threadedly secured fat its innerV vend totiieirr-` termediate portion Aof member AI,"`i.e.,` at a lpoi-nt' .lyingfto' the yrear of 'theV innermost-"path'o'f movement'of 'nose-piece I2. ist-af'secondcylindrlcal shellil' whichl constitutes' a vcarrier forma :plu ralit'y `(three asshown): of ldogs or -levers 3 I. The

latter lie in IlongitudinalVslots''32 lspaced equal` to suchleverends The outer ends'ofthe. vlevers* on the other hand are formed with; rounded pro- 'Io facilitate sucnmovementfthe `Astuds 23 aredesirablyproved with `r rollers y26' atfthe' 42 wherewith the rounded projections 35 on cam levers3l'* may be successively caused to engage by longitudinal movement of ring 31. The effectiveidiameter ot lthe bevel 4facefll Iz"y o-nrring 3l' is slightly 'greater' than fthat' of-u.the fbevel 'face 4t2, asfa `fresult of which: itfvvill `ibezseenE that correspondingly diierentzdegrees off inwardlyl directed pressure may' be v*exertediorivftlf1e :nose-.piece 13@ through engagement of suchzfa'ces `with thel cam leverstr'lz: 'It-Will bezobvious-:thatz'only one such bevel face will serve where such variation 'in degree of: pressureis?.` notarequiredaor the. number ofssteps-may' be more; than theztwo lshown..

.Aishoulderedrringt.itlireadedly :engaged withinzithe: forward: portioir offshell; 24E serves to close olf `the,correspondingisidei of-the "ball'zbearing 3Q', such :ring s iconstitutingii. in "efectza ,'part'- of the fshell'inn-questions; -Meansiiwill also .be desirably provided?y whereby whenthexchuckis isecured in a machine: theicasing-Iii` will befheld-against rota.- tion: ASuchfmeansgfas illustratedrrnay take the place of -a :radially iextendirigfjrodorgbolt "lie that isithi'eaded-to tlle niainbodyV of the casing, rbeing securedy in placefby'meansof-:a lock-nut; 41. r

:From thexforegoingrlescription of theiconstruction-andtoper'ationofthe:several: component parts of ourimproved1.ichuck', V`.the operation -`of the smokes-a -whole rwillfbereadily-apparent.. When the: rcl'iuck.isrset' up .for operatonf forf .use in -a machine, thetool:oraotherpartifto :beheld therein is inserted within the-colletiwhileethe Ylatter is in Sits :normal expandedscondition.- Thereupon jecti'onsl l35 which. have camming 4engagement:

with the outwardly bevelled iac'e of. a ringl H3T rotatably `heid within shell 1l.' y ,y

Such rotatablemounting'for ring 'B'IIisjprovide'd by a ball'bearing' 38j, onerace'of whlchabuts a shoulder on the `ring Vwhile thea-'other is heid in place by a iiange that'h'as 'exterior threaded engagement with the rear end of said 'ring' 31. Such last-'mentioned ball'race also abuts `against' aninwardlydirected shoulder on sl1e`ll"`24".v Accordingly itwilLbe seen that .the ball bearing ,38' isf disposed so as to'take up longitudinal thrust between said shell 2'4 and ring 31j, while at 'the sam'e time leaving the latter. entirely 'free to .r0

tate Within said sheiisas weil asaboutjshlirsu byfirotatin'g. handle.- orl knob @25. the lcam sleeve or shell 24 risa ymoved longitudinally: forwardly relativelyztofthe casing= Ifandmember I, betweenl whichrsuch.sleeveais;rotatably;:as. lwell .as thus longitudinally, movably supportedr: The effect of such movement of theiisleevewillibefto press'the outer `rounded sends; ofitlieA lever arms `3 I: inwardly thereby rocking the leversaboutitheir pivots and pressing .theirinner fangularfends against the Voutwardly directed ange-Sl on' therznose-piece 3. Gonesponding inward movement isztheref ore Virnparted tmsuch nose-piecegsuiicient to cause-.the latter Vtocontract the collet into firm gripping engagement-with. thel tool :or workfpieee; that has be,en;inserted.therein 4 The .forward longitudinal movement ofthecamsleeve lscontinued--until the 'rounded outerendsofrthe levers Yengage nne or the other .of the, oppositely inclined bevel faces il and 42 onsaidsleeve, whereby. the leverswill be retainedin.corresponding 4set position...` Due to the .diiferencein -the I.diameter of such bevel faces 4I land 4l2the vdegree nf 4.pressure exerted .by the inner `enr`:ls. .ofthe.leverson the flange of the nose,-piecemayv be correspondingly varied. Whenit' is desired to release the tool or Workpiecaoall that is required is to move the handle or knob insana 25. m the reverse direction, "whereupon the cam sleeve is moved inwardlyso as to release such rounded lever ends.A Due to the resilience of theV of a continuous work-piece, since such may be' fed intermittently through the lhollowinterior of the chuck so as to present successive sections tov a workingY tool in a. machine equipped with such' chuck.

. It should 'also be noted 'that the lever arms 3l give equalized pressure'onV nose-piece flange 34, due to the fact that'there is clearance between parts 31 and 24, such equalization of pressure being further insured by employing three'such arms equally spaced circumferentially about the nose-piece.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. In a chuck, the 'combination of a hollow cylindrical supporting member, a contractible collet reciprocably mounted therein, said member and collet being formed with coacting faces whereby the latter is contracted upon movementthereof inwardly of the former, and means for thus moving said collet, said means comprising a nose-piece surrounding said member and reciprocable longitudinally thereof, an inwardly directed flange on said nose-piece engaging the outer end of said collet, a surrounding casing rotatably connected with said member but held against longitudinal movement relatively thereto, a shell surrounding said nose-piece and supported by said member, lever arms carried by said shell and having operative engagement with said nosepiece, and means supported by said casing whereby -said lever arms may be actuated. A

2. In a chuck, the combination of a hollow cylindrical supporting member, a contractible collet reciprocably mounted therein, said member and collet being formed with coacting faces whereby the latter is contracted upon movement thereof inwardly of the former, and means for thus moving said collet, said means comprising a nose-piece surrounding said member and reciprocable longitudinally thereof, an inwardly directed flange on said nose-piece engaging the outer end of said collet, a surrounding casing rotatably connected with said member but held against longitudinal movement relatively thereto, an outwardly directed flange on said nose-piece, a shell surrounding the latter and 4supported by said member, lever arms carried by said shell and disposed to engage said last-mentioned flange on -said nose-piece, and means supported by said casing whereby said lever arms may be actuated.

3. In a chuck, the combination of a hollow cylindrical supporting member, a contractible collet reciprocably mounted therein, said member and collet being formed with coacting faces whereby the latter is contracted upon movement thereof inwardly of the former, and means for thus moving said collet, said means comprising a nosepiece surrounding said member and reciprocable longitudinally thereof, an inwardly directed flange on said nose-piece engaging the outer end of said collet, a surrounding casing rotatably connected with said member but held against longitudinal movement relatively thereto, an outwardly directedflange on said nose-piece, a shell surrounding the 1atter and supported by said member, lever arms'carried'by saidjsh'ell and disposed to engage said n last-mentioned flange on said nose-piece, andacam sleeve reciprocably supported byk said casing adapted toengage and actuate said levers. i 4.v v,In afchuck, the combination of a hollow cylindrical supporting'member, a contractible collet reciprocably mounted therein, said'member and "collet being formed with coacting faces whereby theilatter is contracted upon movement thereof inwardly 4`of the former, and means for' thus moving' said collet, 'said means jcomprising a nose- `piece`surrounding saidinember and reciprocable longitudinally thereof, an invl'ra'rdly4v directed an'ge on said nose-piece'engaging the outer end of said collet, a surrounding casing rotatably connected with said member but held against longitudinal movement relatively thereto, an outward.. ly directed flange on said nose-piece, a shell surrounding the latter and supported by said member, lever arms carried by said shell and disposed to engage said last-mentioned flange on said nose-piece, a cam sleeve rotatably and reciprocably mounted within said casing adapted to engage and actuate said levers upon being reciprocated, and means adapted thus to reciprocate said sleeve.

5. In a chuck, the combination of a hollow cylindrical supporting member, a contractible collet reciprocably mounted therein, said member and collet being formed with coacting faces whereby the latter is contracted upon movement thereof inwardly of the former, and means for thus moving said collet, said means comprising a nosepiece surrounding said member and reciprocable longitudinally thereof, an inwardly directed flange on said nose-piece engaging the outer end of said collet, a surrounding casing rotatably connected with said member but held against longitudinal movement relatively thereto, an outwardly dlrected ilange on said nose-piece, a shell surrounding the latter and supported by said member, lever arms carried by said shell and disposed to engage said last-mentioned flange on said nosepiece, and a sleeve reciprocably supported by said casing having a bevel face disposed to engage and actuate said levers and a second, oppositely inclined bevel face adapted to retain said levers in position following such actuation thereof.

6. In a chuck, the combination of a hollow cylindrical supporting member, a contractible collet reciprocably mounted therein, said member and collet being formed with coacting faces whereby the latter is contracted upon movement thereof inwardly of the former, and means for thus moving said collet, said means comprising a nosepiece surrounding said member and reciprocable longitudinally thereof, an inwardly directed flange on said nose-piece engaging the outer end of said collet, a surrounding casing rotatably connected with said member but held against longitudinal movement relatively thereto,V an outwardly dil eetuatn, there@ 1, ehuels, the eQmleinenee-,oea helleweyf. lindrieal suppelrting meme?,e` eentrraetble eellee d'member and.

collet;x surrounding casi. grretetably .eonneesed with .Said Fmember bue Ixei against. longitudinal mevemelltelativelytheretmen@inwardly directed 1 flange-en .seid nose-pieee, e shelleurroundng the;

latter and supported by ,Seidmembeneeid Shell beine.v ferme@ with e plurality ef eireumerferltielly spaeecL, longitudinal Yslots, levers, *Affen.sversely priv.-` eted in Snell @1912s. heling their inner ends dise pese@ ,to engage seid V leest--111snonesl flange f i faces. whereby,

seid neefleieee. emule@ qi ggupded-proj ec ogs ter the, fel-'m leeve ,resipwleeebly h e bevelfaee BENJMN, v

REFEMNQES. eleven UNITED f STATES PATENTS Numbg Datel 1,818,305 2,228,685. A 2?'345QQQ9 2,364,212. 2,383.1,56 v, 2,397,159, 1 v

enid levers L Aug".'1'1,-19 31,

Dec., 5, 1944. 

